thank you DIVER for shairing your images .
it would be very usefull if huminbird or lawance could give the facility to reduce the dead area for the deeper scans . this dead area makes spoting unknown object difficult.

i have been holding off purchasing the humminbird 1198 ,till the launch of the lowrance structure scan in oct 2009 so far no show acourding to the uk rep ,navico who dont have a clue what it is let alone how deap it goes in side scan. denmark diver scans back in july were very good. can any divers in uk post images from humminbird and knowlage of lawance .just got back from dive show at nec very poor

HB over Lowrance - for the support forums, advice and 1000's of hours of experience !

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul holder

thank you DIVER for shairing your images .
it would be very usefull if huminbird or lawance could give the facility to reduce the dead area for the deeper scans . this dead area makes spoting unknown object difficult.

Hi There,

I have owned a Humminbird 987C SI for 4 years and it's frickin awesome !

This thread has the scope to run and run by the way..............

To answer your question - The "dead" area is mapped by the trad 2D view on older units (mine) But........ there is a new "down imaging" function that shows the "dead" area passing under the boat in a 3D side-scan style on all new HumminB and Lowrance SI units.

HB Screen capture showing Side Image and Down Image (the tree has just been passed over and the top left show the sonar back from the central cone - not covered by the Side Imaging sonar)

One great thing about Humminbird is they offer constant software upgrades once you buy a unit (just register the unit at their site) - so that my unit has 90% functionality of the 2009 brand new units - even though I bought it in 2005 - awesome - I will be able to upgrade to "SI Down Imaging" in January - yippee - thanks HB !

HB have lots of users and tons and tons of advice from people who have been using these units for many thousands of hours - from shallow Fresh Water USA fishermen, to deep diving Norwegian Techinical divers.

See these 2 HumminBird SI dedicated forums for tons of feedback, images and advice.

Oh - and here's the clincher for me, if I was making the decision all over again:-

The HummB units will actually RECORD and store ALL information in a 100% information capture mode, Meaning you can go back later and view your trackprogress with all Side-Imaging History and GPS Chart location History, in any of the 12+ different screen views available when in LIVE mode

You can scroll through and review your trip-history recording in any different screen - (very, very, very useful) from the point you started the recording - to the point you stopped (the length of recording is only limited by the size of your 2nd SD memory card (buy a dozen 8Gb cards and you can effectively record all day !) and..............

which is totally free and developed by a forum member - You can also view underwater structures you have recorded, mark their position (as all GPS, Depth and distance from sonar positions are stored and recorded and can be identified and highlighted by moving a cursor ANYWHERE over the Side-Image recording from the farthest point Left to the farthest point right, and from the start to the end of the recording regardless of distance

Hey you can even measure the size of an underwater structure using a click and drag measurement selection tool - which is pretty accurate !

So just switch on the recording function, troll a grid over your fav dive/fish site, build a 3D map of the seabed (www.DrDepth.se,) review your recordings, mark any structures of interest (HummViewer) - all whilst on your PC at home in the warm, then load the Waypoints back to your unit, and go back and fish / dive them at a later date.

Look..... basically - until you own one of these units, you will not understand why 99% of owners are utterly fanatical about them - they will totally transform your fishing / diving / boating experience................. I absolutely, categorically, fundamentally kid you not.

Its like using a typewriter and then jumping straight on to a PC - the difference is astonishing.

They do take time to set/up and perfect (there are lots of sensitivity settings etc) but read the forums, and you will be 90% of the way there before you start !

So go and dig out and sell whatever stuff you have in your loft/garage that you don't physically need to survive, list it on ebay, and go and invest the funds you raise in an HumminBird Side-imaging unit (get one with GPS Mapping if you can afford it - although there is NMEA functionality if your technically minded, to connect up other units).

I have no affiliation with HummB, but will say that the unit has transformed my diving and fishing experiences beyond all recognition.

You will never have made a better purchase than buying one of these units if you truly want to understand where you are fishing/diving.

Now go and justify the outlay to your wife/husband/partner (delete as appropriate)

My next project is to build a towfish (see below) - to get perfect wave-free images (I live in the Channel Islands and force 3 with two foot chop is considered a calm day !!) - not ideal for trolling in for a 6m RIB

Oh and Heads up - if you buy a unit from the USA (and save ££'s) you will not be able to view depth in metres (only feet or fathoms) or set the time to GMT (only USA regions) - there is no work around for this - I have spent many hours checking - but its not critical if you can do basic math in your head (3.3ft to a mtr !!!!) and wear a watch.

All information in exported files (for mapping etc) contains both mtrs & feet (and can be viewed in the software in mtrs of ft) - its the units serial code that restricts viewing to ft / fathms to protect International importers of these units - tough, coz I bought mine from the states and am happy with the compromise.

I've adapted and I saved close to a thousand pounds - four years ago - a small price to pay (and mental arithmetic is good for the brain !)

Oh and with the Hummview software and HumminbirdPC you can view your waypoints on Google earth !

we are about to take the plung
have you a e mail address & or a telephone number .as can be sean from below i have lots of questions thanks for your help
i to can covert ft to meters & being old think in impl any way
if i go to the states any recomended supplyer as you say this will save £1000
will the navico uk charts work
i have been given dire wornings about no ce mark no service & they just wont work any way from uk distributers
i have thought of installing the transducer (puck) on a retractable pole so when trawling the pole is down below the skeg & will avoid the prop wash then up for moving to site.
i have allso been told that the gps is wooly it wont put you back on the way piont because it is set to us saterlites